universalmonstersfandomcom-20200213-history
The Mummy Returns
| runtime = 130 minutes | country = United States | language = English Arabic | budget = $98 million | gross = $433,013,274http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mummyreturns.htm }} The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez and Freddie Boath. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy. It features less horror and more frivolity than the first film, often resorting to slapstick humor. The Mummy Returns inspired the 2002 spin-off film The Scorpion King which is set 5,000 years prior and whose titular character, played by Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), was introduced in this film. It was followed by the 2008 sequel The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Plot In 3067 BC, the Scorpion King leads his army on a campaign to conquer the world. Seven years later, the Scorpion King and his army are defeated and exiled to the desert of Ahm Shere. His men die of heat exhaustion, leaving only the Scorpion King. Vowing to give Anubis his soul for the power to defeat his enemies, an oasis is created to hide the Scorpion King's pyramid and giving him a legion of humanoid jackal warriors to seek revenge. The Army of Anubis sweeps across Egypt, destroying everything in its path, but once their task is finished Anubis claims the Scorpion King's soul and his army. In 1933, Rick and Evelyn O'Connell explore a ruined mortuary structure in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes with their son, Alex. They find the Bracelet of Anubis. In London, Alex puts on the bracelet, which shows him a vision with directions to the Oasis of Ahm Shere. Alex has seven days to reach the oasis, or the bracelet will kill him the moment the sun's rays shine on the Scorpion King's pyramid; at that point, the Scorpion King and his army will reawaken. Alex is captured by an Egyptian cult who have resurrected Imhotep; they wish to use Imhotep's power to defeat the Scorpion King, which would give him command of Anubis' army. The cult, led by Baltus Hafez, the British Museum's curator, includes a warrior named Lock-Nah and Meela Nais, the reincarnation of Imhotep's love Anck-su-namun. The O'Connells set out to rescue Alex, accompanied by Evelyn's brother Jonathan and the Medjai Ardeth Bay. Rick's associate from his past adventures, Izzy, a pilot, provides the group with transportation. The bracelet gives Alex visions, directions to Ahm Shere that the cult follows. At each location, Alex leaves clues for his parents, who follow in Izzy's dirigible. Imhotep uses the Book of the Dead to give Meela Nais the soul of Anck-su-namun but by doing so he allows Evelyn to unlock the memories of her previous life as Princess Nefertiri, the bracelet's keeper and Pharaoh Seti I's daughter. Lock-Nah discovers that Alex has been leaving clues, so Imhotep makes a wall of water that attacks the dirigible. The O'Connells crash in the jungle of Ahm Shere. Izzy stays with the dirigible in hopes of repairing it. The O'Connells attack the cult, and both groups are attacked by pygmy mummies. Rick retrieves Alex while Ardeth Bay kills Lock-Nah. They escape from the pygmies, who kill most of the cult except for Baltus. Imhotep and Anck-su-namun are unharmed due to Imhotep's powers and Anck-su-namun being the keeper of the Book of the Dead. Rick and Alex run to the pyramid, barely making it before sunrise. The bracelet detaches from Alex's arm. Ardeth regroups with the Medjai in case Anubis' army rises. Anck-su-namun stabs Evelyn and kills her. Rick, grieving, pursues Imhotep. Baltus puts on the bracelet and revives the army. As Imhotep walks into the pyramid, Anubis takes his powers, wanting Imhotep to fight as a mortal. Rick finds Imhotep summoning the Scorpion King and they fight. The Medjai engage the army. The Scorpion King interrupts Rick and Imhotep's fight. Imhotep tells the Scorpion King that he is the Scorpion King's slave, but Rick was sent to kill him. During Rick and the Scorpion King's fight, the Scorpion King kills Baltus. Jonathan and Alex collaborate to steal the Book of the Dead from Anck-su-namun. Alex uses the book to resurrect Evelyn, who duels with Anck-su-namun. In a direct reference to the first film, Alex asks Jonathan for help to decipher a hieroglyphic; the same hieroglyphic Evelyn translates for Jonathan in first film. Alex and Jonathan go help Rick while Evelyn fights Anck-su-namun. It is revealed that the scepter that Jonathan has been carrying extends into a spear that can kill the Scorpion King. The Medjai seemingly defeat Anubis' army despite heavy casualties, but see that they have only defeated the vanguard, and the full army is charging towards them. However, before the Anubis warriors hit the Medjai lines, Rick succeeds in killing the Scorpion King, sending him and his army back to the Underworld. The Scorpion King's death breaks his oath with Anubis, causing the oasis to turn back into a desert, and the oasis to be sucked into the pyramid. Rick and Imhotep are hanging from the edge of a pit that leads into the underworld. Evelyn risks her life to save Rick, but Anck-su-namun refuses to do the same for Imhotep, and abandons him. Heartbroken about her desertion, he lets go of the ledge, falling into the underworld, to his death. Anck-su-namun, running away from the pyramid, falls into a pit of black scorpions, where she is suffocated and stung to death. The O'Connells reach the top of the pyramid, which is being sucked into the desert. Izzy arrives with a modified dirigible and saves the O'Connells. Jonathan grabs the diamond at the top of the pyramid. Ardeth Bay salutes them as they fly over him. Cast *Brendan Fraser as Rick O'Connell *Rachel Weisz as Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell/Princess Nefertiri *Freddie Boath as Alex O'Connell *John Hannah as Jonathan Carnahan *Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay *Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep *Patricia Velásquez as Meela Nais/Anck-Su-Namun *Alun Armstrong as Baltus Hafez *Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Lock-Nah *Shaun Parkes as Izzy Buttons *Dwayne Johnson as Mathayus, The Scorpion King *Bruce Byron as Red *Joe Dixon as Jacques *Tom Fisher as Spivey *Aharon Ipalé as Pharaoh Seti I Reception Box office The Mummy Returns has earned the gross profit (the worldwide box office minus the budget) of $335,013,000, which, taking inflation into account, is a few percent lower than The Mummy gross profit ($335,933,000). On its opening day, the film earned $24,134,667. The film grossed $202,019,785 in the United States and Canada box offices and $230,993,489 elsewhere, totaling in $433,013,274 worldwide. Critical The Mummy Returns has received mixed reviews from critics. It currently holds a 47% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 139 reviews. Metacritic reported, based on 31 reviews, an average rating of 48 out of 100. Roger Ebert, who awarded the first film three stars, gave the second film only two, saying that "The mistake of The Mummy Returns is to abandon the characters, and to use the plot only as a clothesline for special effects and action sequences." James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film two and a half stars (out of four), calling it "hollow, lightweight entertainment—not unpleasant, but far from the summer's definitive action/adventure flick. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review, praising its "constant plot turns, cheeky sensibility and omnipresent action sequences." Todd McCarthy of Variety praised "the nonstop action of the final hour", saying that it "bursts with visual goodies." Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal gave the film a negative review, saying that it "has all of the clank but none of the swank of the previous version." Charles Taylor of Salon.com was also not impressed, calling The Mummy Returns "everything the first Mummy was fun for not being." Awards and nominations Soundtrack }} |rev2=Empire |rev2score= |rev3=Filmtracks |rev3score= |rev4=Tracksounds |rev4score= }} The Mummy Returns: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on May 1, 2001 by Decca Records. It contains the score composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri, although it misses material heard during the climactic action sequences. Also featured is a version of the song "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" by the rock band Live, which slightly differs from the song's album version. Video game The Mummy Returns video game was released on the PlayStation 2 on October 4, 2001 and Game Boy Color on May 11, 2001. On the PlayStation 2 version, the player can choose to play as Rick, with the game ending similar to the film, or Imhotep, with him taking control of Anubis' army. References External links * * * * * * Category:2001 films Category:2001 video games Category:2000s fantasy films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:Arabic-language films Category:Egyptian-language films Category:2000s adventure films Category:American adventure comedy films Category:American fantasy adventure films Category:Ancient Egypt in fiction Category:Films directed by Stephen Sommers Category:Films set in 1933 Category:Films set in Egypt Category:Films shot anamorphically Category:Films shot in Morocco Category:Sequel films Category:The Mummy films Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Pinewood Studios films Category:Universal Monsters film series ml:ദ് മമ്മി റിട്ടേണ്‍സ്